I have enjoyed capturing abstracts at the ocean for the past several weeks. I set out for La Jolla one chilly November afternoon to capture more. I had a perch picked out, an outcropping of rock that sits 20 feet or so above the ocean. As I took in the short hike to this spot, I kept getting distracted by other intriguing compositions. The beach changes with the seasons. The deeper chasms were filled in with a lot of sand, and a brief break in the clouds offered up alluring sunbeams.

I could have easily remained distracted by the sky and surf. Instead I pressed on. I needed that light breaking through the clouds for my abstracts. The dappled afternoon light bouncing off the ripples in the water makes for a great mix of color. Add a little panning with the camera, and the ocean becomes a gentle weave of colored ribbons.

I’m looking forward doing this again soon. WIth higher cloud cover and a more vibrant sunset, I’m hoping to break beyond the warm/cool palette and add more colors to the scene. Or maybe I should get myself to a lake with fall color and use the reflections of the trees to make the patterns. Either way, I’m enjoying this new way (new to me, at least) of exploring a familiar location.

Of course, before packing up for the evening, I couldn’t resist one parting shot of a classic California coastline.